A week or two back I finally got my Nokia 3589i successfully installed as a modem on my laptop so I can dial up to Verizon Wireless via QNC (quick net connect) and use the Internet. I bought a DKU-5 cable which I believe is aftermarket on eBay. For a while I thought that the fact that the cable was marked GPRS (as opposed to CDMA, I guess) meant that I had a cable that would not work for me, but that was not the problem. The purpose of this paragraph is to include search terms to lead others with difficulty getting their Nokia dialed up to Verizon to this posting. I thought perhaps that Verizon had changed the authentication particulars (from the phone number: #777, user: qnc, password: qnc details that I had found on the Web). I thought perhaps I needed to buy a Mobile Office connectivity kit from Verizon (which they apparently don't have for the 3589i but are themselves fairly confused about). I thought perhaps I had line settings, especially baud rate (19200), set wrong.
The trick was in TFM. (I practice just-in-time manual reading, which I think is entirely justified and necessary today.) I finally downloaded the DKU-5 Data Cable Installation and Configuration Guide and the PC Suite User Guide and PC/PDA Connectivity Guide from the nokiausa.com site (make sure you go to the correct Nokia website for your country) and read them cover to cover. (Also just FYI, the DKU-5 Setup program, the modem driver, and the PC Suite applications are all freely available on the same site along with the guides. Be sure to go to the PC Applications page for your phone on your country's Nokia site. You do not need a separate software CD.) The trick was suggested in Chapter 10 ("Wireless modem setup") of my Connectivity Guide. When I was installing the nmpcdma1xrtt.inf modem driver I had chosen the Nokia CDMA 1xRTT 3G Packet Data Modem, assuming that it was the most superior driver and a superset of the others. When I later attempted the dial-up, the data call immediately terminated after completion, and it was because I was using the phone's 3G capabilities to try to connect to a non-3G service. (I don't actually know that the phone has 3G or even 2G capabilities, but in any case it was wrong to try with respect to QNC.) The trick was to back it out and instead choose Nokia CDMA 1xRTT Data Fax Modem. (I think all three are actually the same except for default init strings, as the manual says you can change the mode via init string.) On trying again, my call immediately connected and the authentication was accepted, and I was online.
So, check out Nokia's DKU-5 Guide (it's short) and chapters 10 ("Wireless modem setup") and 11 ("Data and fax software setup") of the Connectivity Guide before screwing around with this stuff. If you refuse to consult these guides, the key point is to install software before cabling, but I think you will spend as much time fiddling with stuff as you would just following the instructions.
Other helpful pointers include making sure the Nokia Connection Manager doesn't have the COM port seized when you attempt to dial up. Conversely, the Connection Manager must have the COM port seized in order to use the PC Suite applications.
On my laptop, when I ran the DKU-5 Setup program and plugged the DKU-5 into my first USB port, the Prolific USB-to-Serial Comm Port was installed as a virtual COM5. When I later tried plugging the DKU-5 into my other USB port the associated virtual COM port was COM6. I decided to chain a second Nokia CDMA 1xRTT Data Fax Modem to COM6 (I accepted the default name Windows assigned of "Nokia CDMA 1xRTT Data Fax Modem #2") and then in my Verizon Wireless dial-up connection properties dialog I checked both modems under "Connect using," checked "All devices call the same numbers," and on the Options tab chose "Dial only first available device" under "Multiple devices." Now I can be agnostic about which USB port I plug into when I want to double-click my Verizon Wireless connection.
(The virtual COM port number is remembered along with USB enumeration. Each time the DKU-5 is found in another USB port it gets the next unused COM port number, which then sticks. I played around with a USB hub and moving it between laptop USB ports and got a dozen COM ports in turn in whatever order I plugged in. Now Windows remembers the senseless order in which I plugged into these ports. So I recommend plugging your DKU-5 into any USB ports in the order in which you want their virtual COM port numbers assigned. Does anyone know where Windows stores this in-use COM port number table and how to edit or clear it out?)
The default baud rate of each Prolific USB-to-Serial Comm Port is 9600. I tried changing it to 14400, 19200, 1200, and other speeds but as best I can tell this setting has no effect on anything. I also tried changing the modem speed to higher speeds but got no throughput over 14400 (the stated maximum speed of QNC); although setting the modem to lower speeds like 1200 works marvelously. (Wow, that brought back memories of BBS'ing in 1991.) So don't worry about your COM port baud setting; just ensure that your modem is set to no less than 14400 and you'll get your 14.4k on the dot. If you feel like verifying your speed, know that there is one stop bit, so multiply your bytes per second by 9 bits per byte to determine your connect speed... betcha it's 14.4 kbps. Your data rate is then obviously 12.8 kbps.
I was pleased to find that my EarthLink Accelerator client worked fine over my Verizon connection. I had wondered if they would discriminate against connections not originating on EarthLink. The Accelerator makes the 12.8-kbps dial-up very usable. It is fun driving down the road using the Net. Can't wait to try the beach. ;-)
I may next try sharing the connection with ICS and see if I can share it on an ad hoc network with my friends. That would be useful for diagnosing friends' wi-fi problems, etc.
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